Rail-anchor.



UNITED 1 STATE s PATENT onirica.

THOMASB, IBOWMAN, OF NEW YQBK, N. Y., ASSIGNR TO ANCHOR COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOI A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

RAIL-ANCHOR.

Specificationl of Letters Patent.

Patented May 6, 1919.

Application filed Octobeif` 2, 1917. Serial No. 194,359.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS B. BOWMAN, a citizen of the yUnited States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Anchors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesto rail anchors.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved rail anchor for preventing the longitudinal movement or creepl ing of rails.

Another object is to provide an improved anchor wherein positive gripping action upon the rail is insured and the web of the rail is relieved from lateral forces set up by the creeping thrust.

Another object is to provide an improved anchor which may be applied to the rails with a minimum of labor and expense and will not materially weaken the rail.

Another object is to provide an anchor'. which is light and eiiicient and simple in construction.

Other objects will appear from the following specification and claims. The anchor comprises a pair of jaws adapted to engage and increasingly grip the base of a rail as the anchor abuts the side of a cross-tie when the rail tends to creep. The

` gripping action of the jaws is positively insured by means passing through the web of the rail and about which the anchor can pivot. The means which insure the gripping action of the jaws are relieved of, and consequently need not be designed to withstand,\the creeping thrust, this load being carriedV by the gripping jaws. In order to prevent'the lateral stresses set up by the creeping thrust, due largely to the inclined shape of the rail base, from forcing the anchor from the rail and misplacingthe jaws from their best gri ping position, or from bei-n conveyed to t e pivotal connection with ne web, improved retaining means are provided whereby these stresses or forces by an edge of the rail base.'

dent to theuse of large rmenings therein and reduces the cost-of in, 'lation since small linexpensive, and and rigid structure.

.bent over to Afrom posltion.

openings can be made at a considerably reduced cost. The form and disposition to the metal in the anchor results in a light, simple,

yet exceedingly eiicient In the drawings Figure 1 shows a front view of the anchor in place on the rail. "il" Fig. 2 is a front perspective of the anchdr.

Fig. 3 is a perspective from the rear.

Figl is a side elevation of the anchor in position.

Fig. 5 illustrates the method of applying the anchor to the rail.

The anchor comprises an upper jaw 5 formed to conform to and bearing upon the inclined upper surface of the rail base, and a lower jaw 6 adapted to engage the under surface of the rail base. Extending downwardly and forwardly from the lower jaw 1s a leg 7 which is adapted to abut the side of a cross-tie some distance below and in front of the jaws. The leg thus normallyl biases the jaws to initially grip the rail base, and, when abutting a tie as the 'rail tends to creep, tilts the jaws in a substantially ver-- tical plane to cause them to lincreasingly grip the rail base as the creeping thrust increases.

In order to insure the tilting action of the l anchor in case the normal biasing of the jaws by the depending leg is insulicient and j to keep the anchor in gripping position, especially when the rail retracts due to contraction or reversal of the direction of the passing loads, the upper jaw 5 is/provided with an upwardly extending arm or projection 10. This arm is provided Witlnan opening 11 through which a cotter pin 12 may be passed. Pin 12 also passes through an opening in the web of the rail and has itsends prevent it from being jarred.

When the creeping thrust is applied to the depending leg 7 lateral stresses or forces are produced, due principally to the incline of the top of the rail base, which tend to cause .f the anchor to be forced laterally from its position. Such displacement would impair the efliciency of the gripping jaws and might result in an objectionable proportion of the creeping thrust being imparted to the Cotterpin. These forces are resisted and consequentlythe lateral pull on the cotter'pin is relieved by means which communicate this lateral component of the creeping thrust to the rail base. This means comprises an arm 15 extending in a rearwardly, diagonal.' direction from the lower jaw 6 beneath ithe rail base. This arm has at its outer end an upwardly extending hook forming an abutment 16 adapted to engage the edge of the rail base and a small projection 17 to slightly overlie the rail base edge when the anchor is in 'proper position to prevent arm 15 from dropping from position. Since arm 157 in transmitting the lateral forces to the rail base, acts merely as a tension member it may be comparatively light, thus adding little to i a strong and rigid structure the rear of the.

leg is hollowed outl as clearly indicated in Figs. 3 and 4.

In applying the anchorto a rail the jaws 5 and 6 are slipped over one edge of the base. The anchor is slightly skewed or lturned so that arm 15 is in advance of its normal position. This causes the projection 17 to come outside ofthe line of the edge of the rail base and the anchor may be tilted vertically the amount required to bring arm 15 against the bottoni of the base and the under side of projection 17 above the line of the upper surface of the rail edge. The rail anchor then is in the position indicated .by the dotted lines of Fig. 5. The anchor is then turned or driven to the position shown hv the full lines in Fig. 5. The iiiner surface of projection or abutment 16 now lits snugly against the railv edge in a position to impart to the rail base the lateral forces produced by the creeping thrust. Projection 17 extending slightly over the rail edge holds arm 15 and abutment 16 in place.

A rail anchor is thus provided wherein the size of the pin forming the pivot about which the jaws tilt may he reduced because it is relieved from longitudinal forces b v the jaws and from lateral forces by the retaining member ifi- 16. Reduction in the size of the pin required necessitates a smaller opening in the web of the rail. Thus the web is not materially weakened `and the labor .of installation is reduced because `small openings can be drilled much more cheaply than large ones.

1. A rail anchor having upper and lower jaws forincreasingly gripping the base of a rail when tilted only in a substantially vertical plane, adepending leg for abutting a tie to tilt said jaws only in a substantially vertical plane and a diagonallyfdisposed arm extending' beneath the rail `base and engaging an edge thereof to transmit to the rail the forces tending to displace the jaws laterally.

2. A rail anchor comprising a pair of jaws tiltable only in a substantially vertical plane to increasingly grip the rail base, a dependingleg for abutting a tie to tilt said j aws, and an arin extending beneath the rail base diagonally from said jaws to engage and transmit to an edge of the rail hase the lateral' displacing forces.

3. A rail anchor having an upper and a lower jaw adapted to engage a rail base on one side of the web, an arm extending from the lower jaw diagonally beneath the rail base to engage the opposite edge of the base to prevent lateral displacement of the anchor, a depending leg adapted to engage a tie 'as the rail tends to creep and cause the jaws to tilt in a vertical plane to increasingly grip the rail base, and means cooperating with the upper jaw and the web of the rail to insure positive action of the jaws when the leg abuts a tie.

4. A rail anchor having a pair of jaws relatively close together in the direction of the length of the rail to increasingly grip the rail base when tilted in a substantially vertical plane, a relatively long depending and forwardly extending leg adapted to normally bias the jaws to grip the rail base yand to abut a tie as the rail tends to creep to tilt the jaws to increase their grip upon the rail, means eoperating with the web of the rail lto insure positive tilting action ofthe jaws when the leg abuts atie, and an arm extended transversely and rearwardly of the jaws beneath the rail base and engaging the edge of the base to impart thereto the lateral stress set up bythe creeping thrust.

5. .A one piece rail'anchor-having on upper jow engaging the upper surface of the hase of a rail on one side of the web, a lower jaw engaging the under surface of the 'rail base, an arm extending diagonally from the lower jaw henea th the base and engaging the opposite side thereof to prevent lateral displacement of the jaws, and a depending leg adapted to abut a tie as the rail tends to creep to tilt the jaws only in a substantially vertical planey to cause them to in` creasingly grip tlurail hase.

6. .A rail anchorcomprising a pair oi jaws adapted when tilltcd in 'a vertical plane to increasingly grip tlie rail base. a depending leg for abutting a tie to tilt the jaws in a Vertical planta pin passing through the web of the rail to forni a pivot aboutV which the jaws tilt, and a retaining` member diagonelly disposed Ibelow the rail base end en.

geging en edge thereof to relieve said pin from, the lateral forces set up by the creepf ing thrust. y

7. A rail enchoi` comprising an 'upper jew adapted to engage the upper surface of the reil bese, e lower jaw having a downwardly curved upper surface-to present a substan tial line contact et its upper edge to the lunder side of the rail, a depending leg adapted to abut e tie to tilt the jaws to cause them to increasingly grip the rail base when the rail tends to creep, means for positively causing the jews to tilt when the leg abuts e tie,`nnd Ineens integral with the jews to Y' engage en edge of the rail base to impart thereto the lateral forces set up by the creeping thrust. 4

8. 4A one piece rail anchor comprising e pair of jews for embracing one edge of the mil baseand increasingly gripping the top und bottom .surfaces of the base when tilted in a vertical plane, e depending leg-for abutting e tie t0 tilt the jaws in a vertical plane when the rail tends to creep, end a tension' member extending diagonally from said ping position substantially at right angles` to the rail, said member and hook imparting to the ruil base only the lateral forces set up v in the anchor bythe creeping thrust to prevent the jaws fromv being forced laterally fromvthe rail base.

In witness whereof I have hereunto snb- '40 scribed my name.

` THOMAS B, BOWMAN. 

